You Give Me Fever
by nubesdelchocolate
Summary: Rayne. River, delirious with fever, lets her big secret slip.
1. Slip

**You Give Me Fever**

**Slip**

Jayne had always known that he would be the first to slip. River would never slip, she was too smart for that. In the past three months they had made out, groped, and had sex all over the ship, but she had never let them get caught. And he knew she was good at acting from when someone would walk in right after. She'd be calm, distant, just as crazy as she always seemed, but he always got out of the room as fast as he could, usually with an "Are you sure you're ok?" Following him out of the room.

So, he knew he'd be the first to let out the secret. He'd look at her wrong or call her a pet name at the table and they'd all know, know everything because it would be clearly written across his face. He couldn't hide anything.

Yup, he would definitely be the first to slip . . . But then, he hadn't figured in the fever.

River had gone off to the market when they'd been planetside and had come back with a new dress, some more gun oil for Jayne, and the flu. As soon as Simon noticed the symptoms he had inoculated them all, so no one else fell sick.

River threw up and slept for an entire day, and the next morning, instead of improving, her temperature soared to 105 degrees and she became delirious. At first she had just babbled nonsense. Simon said some of it was a metaphysical interpretation of a philosophical question and other parts were theorems from most of the advanced sciences.

But then the ramblings turned fearful. She screamed, thinking she was back in the Academy. Screamed about hands of blue and needles and human guinea pigs. Mice that were forced to run through mazes, an electrical shock at one end and at the other, instead of cheese, a huge needle would shoot out of the ground and go through the mouse's skull, leaving it impaled and twitching.

The rest of the crew were terrified and helpless. Clinically, Simon knew he could do nothing more until the fever broke, but he couldn't stand seeing her so scared. He kept trying to reassure her that she was out, he had gotten her out, she was safe. But she would not be soothed, he had no idea if she could even hear him, much less understand what he was saying.

Then, she started screaming one word over and over again. Simon sat back in shock, but she just kept screaming.

Jayne was out in the cargo bay. At first, he had been sharpening his knives, but after realizing he was going to stab something or someone very soon, he had put them down and taken up pacing. It was killing him to stay away from River. He had to though, or the crew would need to know why he was so concerned for her.

He gritted his teeth as her terrified screams rang through the ship. They would have been muffled down in his bunk, but he didn't want to go too far. The cargo bay was safe, just down the hall from her room, and no one would wonder why he was there.

Then she started screaming one word over and over again, and before he could even think, he was racing down the hallway and to her bedside. Her screams of "Jayne, Jayne, Jayne, Jayne, Jayne" repeating in his head, even as she continued screaming it.


	2. Calm

**You Give Me Fever**

AN: Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers! Don't worry, I don't post a story until I've finished it, so you'll never be left hanging, but it is nice to hear that you _want_ me to keep going.

**Calm**

Jayne shoved Simon aside and sat on the edge of the bed. His weight shifted the mattress and her body rolled into his hip. She looked even tinier than usual, her hair hung limply in strands and her eyes were wild and unfocused.

Her screams continued until Jayne gathered her to him, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms firmly around her shaking body. His lips at her ear, he started repeating over and over that he was there, she was safe, no one could hurt her.

She quieted almost instantly, her hands scrambling at his shirt and curling up tighter, as though she was trying to climb right into Jayne. He hissed when her nails scraped down his arms, but kept crooning soothing sounds into her ear.

River's cry had attracted more than just Jayne. The whole crew was gathered outside River's room, most with their mouths hanging open, watching the scene in front of them in shock.

Simon's stomach sank as some things suddenly became painfully clear. But River was calm for the first time in hours and she seemed to be listening to Jayne when she hadn't even acknowledged Simon's presence all day.

"Jayne."

Jayne glanced at Simon over River's head which was now tucked securely under his chin.

"She needs to sleep, she has to rest to get better."

Jayne nodded and said softly to River, pulling her face up with a finger under her chin, "Baby, I'm plumb worn out. Mal had me runnin' round on the hills all day, tryin' to keep his ass out of trouble, so I'm gonna take a nap, will you lie down with me?"

River's eyes were still wide and slightly wild, but at least now they were focused on Jayne, "Where is everyone? Did anyone see you come in here? You're supposed to wait until I come to you."

"Shh, shh, it's ok, the job went real good in the end, they're all in town celebratin'. They won't be back for hours, don't worry, just lie down."

River nodded and climbed out of his lap, lying back on the pillow. She looked around the room as Jayne lowered himself down next to her, "Jayne?"

"Ya, baby?"

"Why is Simon standing over there if he's in town?"

Jayne looked over at Simon and Simon could see Jayne's brow wrinkle as he thought hard. He turned back to River with a smile on his face. "I don't see nothin', but then, you are crazy."

River frowned and weakly smacked Jayne's chest. Then she leaned in and kissed his cheek, "Goodnight, my Jayne."

"Night, baby." Jayne waved the others out with a hand behind his back.

Surprisingly, they went, but they didn't close the door. Everyone but Mal and Simon went and sat down in the common room. The two remained outside the door and watched as River completely relaxed into Jayne's embrace and finally fell asleep.


	3. Acceptance, except

**You Give Me Fever**

AN: Sorry for the little wait, I really had meant to post this last Tuesday, but there are these things that greedily gobble sleep, attention, and ability to form rational thought. Some of you might know these horrible goblins by their more common name: midterms . . . bastards.

**Acceptance, except . . .**

After he was sure she would stay asleep, Jayne gently untangled himself and climbed off the bed. He flapped his hands at Mal and Simon to get them to back up and then walked out into the hallway, quietly closing the door behind him. He walked right past the captain and doctor and out to the common room, collapsing back onto the couch next to Kaylee.

Mal and Simon followed and the captain stood with his arms crossed on the other side of the coffee table. At first he just glared at Jayne.

After a few minutes of silence though, Mal turned to look at Simon, "Doc? This here is where you jump in with the whole protective big brother thing, I'm ready to back you up with some glares and threats, but this is your show."

Simon glanced at Mal and then turned back to Jayne, who looked right back, bracing himself for Simon's wrath. What he got instead had everyone turning to look at Simon.

"Thank you."

Inara smiled, Kaylee clapped, Mal's mouth dropped open, and Zoe's tense stance relaxed. Jayne gave him a long, searching look that Simon met steadily.

Jayne then gave a slight nod, "You're welcome."

Whatever tension was left flew out of the room. Zoe wandered up the stairs and back to the bridge to check their course. Kaylee patted Jayne's shoulder and got up. Simon got a kiss on the cheek before she, too, went up the stairs to her engine room.

Simon smiled at Kaylee and then looked back to Jayne, "You should get some sleep, I'll call if anything changes."

"How 'bout _you_ get some sleep and I'll call _you_ if she changes. You're the one that needs to be awake to do all the doctoring she needs. 'Sides, I'll be up worryin' anyway."

Simon looked like he was about to protest, but when he opened his mouth, instead of an argument, a yawn escaped. So, Simon gave in and went down the hallway to his room.

Mal's mouth still hadn't closed and Inara came up, tugging him by his hand out of the room, amidst cries of "That's it?! Thank you?!! What kind of a brother is he? I didn't even get to make a single threat!!" Inara chuckled as she pulled him towards her shuttle.

Jayne got up and went back to River's room, where she was still sleeping, although not quite peacefully. Jayne pulled up a chair and took her hand, unclasping it from the death grip she had on her sheets.

"Hey, baby, it's ok, I'm gonna sit right here next to you, all you need to do is sleep."

River relaxed and her other hand came to rest softly on her stomach. Jayne leaned on the edge of the bed, his head pillowed on one arm while the other still held River's hand. And, despite what he had just said, he was asleep within minutes.


	4. Happiness

**You Give Me Fever**

**Happiness**

Jayne awoke to a soft hand stroking his hair. He looked up into River's smiling face.

"Hey, baby, you feelin' ok?"

"Yes, much better. Never woken up with you before, how'd you get past the others?"

Jayne sighed and struggled to sit up, his back protesting loudly after a night spent hunched over. "Ya, 'bout that . . ."

River's eyes opened wide, "I told them! Oh, Jayne, I'm sorry! I'm a tattle-tale, a snitch, a whistle blower, a fink, a stoolpigeon– "

Jayne leaned forward and placed a gentle hand over her mouth, "Shh, don't worry, it didn't go too bad actually. Doc sees this ain't no short-term sex thing."

River's smile lit up the room. "It isn't? You mean you won't leave now that the thrill of secret is gone?"

"Oh, baby, trust me, you are all the thrill I need in my life." He ran a hand down her cheek. "Now, I gotta go get the doc. He said to call him and I'd say this is a big change."

Jayne got up , his back protesting again and walked across the hall, knocking on Simon's door. "Hey, wake up, I think she's better, I think the fever broke."

Simon slid open the door as he finished pulling a sweater over his head, "Is she awake?"

"Yup, and she's all there this time."

They walked into the room to see that River had propped herself up a bit and was looking a little nervously at Simon.

Simon quickly held up his empty hands, "No needles, I promise, but you will need to drink lots of juice so you don't get dehydrated."

River nodded "Yes, I am thirsty," but she still looked weary.

"What's wrong, mei mei?"

"Are you going to make trouble for Jayne now that I'm better?"

Simon sighed, "No, I'm not. I saw how gentle he was with you and how comfortable you were with him. I'm not going to take away something that makes you feel safe." River smiled at Simon and then smiled even bigger at Jayne, taking his hand once again. "I would like to know how long this has been going on."

"Three months in two days."

"You remembered!"

"'Course I did, after that fit you threw on the first month and the pout on the second."

River clapped her hands, "Good boy! I've trained you well!"

Simon let out a guffaw as Jayne tried to look angry.

River pulled a strand of her hair over her shoulder and looked at it, her nose wrinkling. "I need to shower."

Simon stepped forward, "Of course, let me just take your temperature first." Simon grabbed the thermometer off the bedside table and stuck it in her mouth, "No talking for a minute."

Jayne snorted and River glared up at him, but didn't talk, waiting for the thermometer to beep. It did, and Simon pulled it out, "99.1 degrees, much better, only slightly elevated, you'll probably be weak for a few days. I'll bring down a pitcher of juice for you, I'm guessing you don't want any food." River's face scrunched up and she stuck her tongue out. "Didn't think so. Also, you might need some help in the shower — "

"I got it, doc," Jayne picked up River suddenly, making her giggle.

She put her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek, "My hero."

"That's me, baby, a big damn hero." And he walked out to the showers.

Simon followed them out, shaking his head and smiling, she sounded so happy. Instead of heading to the showers, he went towards the stairs, giving in to his sudden desire to see Kaylee.


	5. With the Training

**You Give Me Fever**

AN: Thank you my wonderful reviewers. I hate that I never respond individually to my loverly reviews, but I just don't have the time to do that and write silly stories. Please know that they are greatly appreciated. And the word for this story is apparently" cute"! It has been the most common word used to describe it and that's just fine with me. Warning: Only one more part, but it's just as utterly fluffy as the rest of the story has been, enjoy!_**  
**_

_**With**_** the Training**

Simon and Kaylee stumbled into the kitchen forty minutes later with big smiles on their faces. Zoe, who had kitchen duty, was just putting the bowl of protein oatmeal on the table for breakfast.

Inara and Mal looked tired, but content, after a night of Inara "distracting" the captain from the new relationship on board. River was sitting on the couch while Jayne was in the kitchen filling a pitcher with juice.

Simon looked slightly guilty about forgetting his promise to get juice, but Kaylee was pretty good at "distracting" him, too. "Sorry Jayne, I was going to do that"

"S'ok, doc, think I can handle pourin' liquid from one container t'nother."

Simon nodded and sat down at the table, "I know, that's not what I meant. I'm just not used to not taking care of her." He sighed.

River piped up, "Double negative, unnecessarily convoluted sentence, but two negatives equal a positive, right Jayne?"

"Yup, two negatives gets you one big positive, and one plus one equals two peas in a pod, and I'm not allowed to go nowhere 'cause one plus 0 is one lonely partridge in a pear tree, and if I die you'll be pissed 'cause anythin' times 0 is 0 and you'll be nothin' without me."

He walked over to the couch and put the juice pitcher on the little table and a full glass into her hand before plopping down on the couch next to her. It took a moment to realize that the table was so quiet because they were all looking at him strangely. "What?"

Mal responded, "That was just so, well, poetical, for you."

Jayne snorted, "Ah, hell, that ain't me, s'her, she says it all the time."

River smiled, "Yes, but he puts Jayne spins in, I never say 'pissed'."

The table went back to eating until Kaylee spoke up, "Hey, River, did you do that to your hair? How'd you reach?" River's hair was in a neat French braid falling down her back.

"Jayne did it."

The strange looks were back.

"Really?" It wasn't often that Inara let her shock openly show, but the word slipped out before she could stop it.

"Ya, she made me learn, withheld sex for three gorram days while I practiced on the pipe cleaners that I use on my guns."

Most of them grimaced at the word sex, but they shook it off quietly while Inara gracefully cut in with,"Well, River, it seems that you have been doing an excellent job teaching Jayne."

"Training," River chirped cheerfully, "Ape without the training if now fully trained."

Jayne growled and pounced, tickling River in all her most sensitive spots until she was scrambling and giggling madly. "Say it!"

"NOT fully trained!"

Jayne let up with a smug smile, but River's look was much more mischievous, "Just give me a couple more months!"

"Why you saucy little . . ." And he was back, tickling her all over.

_When did he grow five extra hands? _River wondered when suddenly a coughing fit burst painfully out of her.

Jayne stopped immediately, pulling her upright and pressing the forgotten glass into her hand. She raised it to her lips, looking gratefully at Jayne. Simon was out of his chair and halfway to the couches before he stopped. He really did need to get used to someone else taking care of River.

After River stopped coughing and successfully took several gulps of juice, Jayne said quietly while rubbing gentle circles on her back, "Sorry, baby, I really didn't think that one through, you wanna go back to you room?"

River nodded and held her arms out to Jayne, who scooped her up easily.

Simon's voice stopped them, "Mei mei, can you walk?" Maybe she was weaker than he had thought.

"Don't worry, Simon, I can. I just like it when Jayne carries me."

Simon nodded and sat back down as Jayne and River continued out and down the back stairway.

Inara took Mal's hand, "She looks happy."

"And coherent," Zoe added.

"And he was surprisingly pleasant. She does good work," Mal chuckled. The rest of the table laughed, too, and went back to eating.

AN 2: Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans and happy Thursday to everyone else! Have a fantabulous day whether it involves pumpkin pie or not (yummmm pie!!!).


	6. All Better

**You Give Me Fever**

**All Better**

The next few days, Jayne rarely left River's room. When the crew walked through the common room or down the passenger hallway, they could hear voices, but they couldn't tell what was being said. If they went closer or if they stopped by to check on River, the crew were met at the doorway with two eerily similar looks from the silent pair.

Apparently, what was said was for them alone. Simon was the only one who kept trying, his curiosity at what they could possibly find to talk about overcoming his common sense.

Finally, River called out to Simon, "Oh my darling big brother, get your eavesdropping pi gu in here!" Jayne let out a barking laugh and Simon stepped, red faced, through the door. "I don't spy on you and Kaylee anymore, so you shouldn't try to spy on us."

"I know, it's just hard to let you go, I'll try . . . wait! What do you mean anymore?!!"

River's laughter could be heard all over the ship.

-----------

Two days later, River was sitting on the infirmary bed, swinging her legs and looking quite bored as Simon took her temperature, listened to her lungs, and even examined a urine sample to check for dehydration and vitamin deficiency. Everything came back normal.

"Ok, mei mei, I'm ready to declare you completely healthy."

River squealed, jumped off the table and with a quick kiss to Simon's cheek, ran out of the infirmary and out to the cargo bay while Simon followed at a more sedate pace. Kaylee, Inara, and Zoe were sitting on crates talking, while Jayne and Mal played horseshoes over in one corner of the bay.

"Hey River, everything all clear?" Kaylee called out, but River just ignored her and continued running toward Jayne.

Jayne turned around at Kaylee's call just in time to catch River as she came flying through the air at him. His arms went around her waist as hers went around his neck and her legs wrapped tightly around his middle. Their mouths came together as if they had magnets in their lips.

After a few moments of this, Jayne took a few steps back, turned around, and slammed River into the wall, causing both of them to moan as their hips were pressed tightly together.

Mal let out a piercing whistle, causing them to stop briefly, and look at him. "Take that to a bunk, Now!"

Never letting go of River, Jayne walked out of the bay, towards River's room. The rest of the crew stood awkwardly.

"See, now, that's what I was afraid of seeing when my crew started hooking up with each other."

Kaylee just laughed and started tugging Simon out of the bay, "C'mon, Simon, another few minutes and the Cap'n will be yelling at us." Simon looked embarrassed, but that didn't stop him from eagerly following after her.

Mal sighed and then saw the look in Inara's eye. She was ready to "distract" him again. Mal paused though and turning asked, "Zoe?"

"I'm fine, sir, I'll keep the ship flying smooth."

Mal nodded and followed Inara up the stairs toward her shuttle.

Zoe stood alone in the center of the bay, gently fingering the leather cord around her neck. She walked up the stairs, through the crew hallway, and up to the cockpit. Sitting in _his_ chair, she picked up the t-rex and held it in her hands.

"Well, baby, I don't know how you saw it coming, but I guess I owe you ten credits. How do you feel about a triceratops moving into This Land?

The End.

AN: I'm actually working on something with plot! It's not going as well as I'd like, I think I prefer fluff and character studies, but I'm going to keep trying. Until next time, mwah! (That's a kiss sound, as my best friend had to inform me many years ago on AIM)


End file.
